Stocks Are Ready To Test New Highs At The Beginning Of July

Initial Jobless Claims Declined To 364,000

U.S. has just released Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims reports.

Initial Jobless Claims report indicated that 364,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in a week compared to analyst consensus of 390,000. Continuing Jobless Claims increased from 3.41 million (revised from 3.39 million) to 3.47 million compared to analyst consensus of 3.38 million.

S&P 500 futures are moving higher after the release of job market reports, and traders look ready to buy stocks at all-time high levels at the start of the month.

Today, traders will also have a chance to take a look at the final reading of Manufacturing PMI report for June. Analysts expect that Manufacturing PMI improved from 62.1 in May to 62.6 in June as the economy continued to rebound at a fast pace.

WTI Oil Breaks Above The $75 Level As OPEC+ Reportedly Reaches Deal

OPEC+ is meeting today to discuss the current situation in the oil market and craft its plans for the future. According to a recent Reuters report, Russia and Saudi Arabia have managed to reach preliminary consensus.

The report indicated that OPEC+ planned to add about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from August to December. Previously, the market expected that OPEC+ would add an additional 0.5 million bpd from August. At this point, it looks that the pace of monthly production increases will be less than 0.5 million bpd which is bullish for oil.

Yesterday, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed that crude inventories declined by 6.7 million barrels compared to analyst consensus which called for a decline of 4.7 million barrels. Meanwhile, U.S. domestic oil production remained flat at 11.1 million bpd. This report served as an additional bullish catalyst for oil.

The oil market mood remains very bullish, and WTI oil has already managed to get above the psychologically important $75 level which is a positive development for oil-related stocks.

Gold Rebounds Amid Concerns About The Delta Variant Of Coronavirus

Gold received material support near $1750 and rebounded towards the nearest resistance level at $1775 as it benefited from safe-haven buying.

While the growing concern about another wave of coronavirus due to the Delta variant has failed to put pressure on most markets, some traders look ready to buy gold and silver as a hedge against potential risks. It remains to be seen whether the current rebound will help the beaten gold mining stocks as the market mood is still rather bearish.